Death of the Garden Tractor 

That’s how I learned

Me to! My dads Work horse and then his JD

will outlast any tractor made today my 77 300 deere will outpull my brothers 2001 4010 compact tractor

1976 cub 1650 still going! Owned 17yrs

Mtd turned cub cadet into trash the same way they did with the other brands they own

@@ChronicBongitis420 mtd is still better than AYP machines

@@angus4202 aren't they just a parts manufacturer?

I got my Sears tractor from my father-in-law. had it for about 15 years now. Awesome tool.

This becomes more clear when you adjust old garden tractor prices for inflation.

There are tons of things that are better now. Otherwise, they would still be making them.

@@morrismonet3554 most shit is cheaper an crappier built why they don't last. I put my 88 john deere 318 up against any new new tractors aside from 4wd my 318 will out perform an out last them any day the week. Good example why a 34 yr old tractor still working perfect an you will never see any the new ones last that long or take the abuse

Exactly

The stand up zero turn mowers work amazing for steep hills

My mom bought a new GR2120, we got a package deal because I bought a new L4760 and an RTV1100. She hasn’t used it much, it’s got like 18 hours on it lol. Now she has a lawn service for her 5 acres, so we are trying to sell it.

Don’t never get a zero then, because you’ll never go back

@@marksullivan57 For steep slopes, the GR really has a niche, shared really only with the X7_8/9's from John Deere. From personal experience, they are less tippy than subcompact tractors and can go places zero turns break loose. The 4WD, lower center of gravity, and relatively wide wheelbase is the key. The GR's glide steer also gives pretty near zero turn turning; not quite as tight but also without the risk of slipping a rear wheel. That was the selling point for a (used) GR, they're so much more stable and maneuverable on the hills.

I'm assuming you mow with the 1025r? How does it cut compared to the 700 series?

@@toddmoore139 In general, less maneuverable, and has a tendency to rip lawn when turning sharp. It does cut nice though.

This is the first time I have heard of the wife wanting the bigger more expensive tractor. She you glad you got the B2601 instead?

@@C_J_81 Both 100% satisfied with B :) We have been married 42 years she has seen before buying then re buying bigger wood working tools is good example.

"...don't want to die from a rollover on a hill." So true. You can perform pretty stupid maneuvers on the GRs without tipping. I forgot myself mowing for my father on his zero turn and popped a wheelie on a slope that the GR can crawl right up.

I thought that exact same thing. Watching Neil sitting next to it, I was kinda hoping that he would say something about it. Good eye

Yup. My dad is still riding around on an 89' 520h. His old 67' raider 9 WH is still cutting grass down the street at my brothers. Wanted a 500 series in the worst way but that ship sailed. Old customer of mine is a tubing MFG that is actually in the original Wheel Horse plant in South Bend IN. It sucked to work in there and see something other than tractors leaving the factory.

@@lesstech74 I worked at a large Toro/WH dealer in the 90s through Jr. High and High School. We didn't sell many tractors, as we're in densely populated suburbs, but we did move a few 416s and 520Hs, and a number of 2 series tractors. I remember a 520H we sold to a municipality with a Kwik-Way FEL, dual rear ag tires, weights, etc. Problem was the motion drive was on the same side of the column as the loader controls and there was no power steering. Still, awesome tractors that have quite a following today.

Lawn mower, not a garden tractor.

200 hours is nothing

There where some good ones in the 90's. These still have some trade value to them, even 25 years later.

ah memories I mowed with a JD 445 for several years when I was 12-14 back in the 90s great machine I loved the hydro drive, I went from the old pull start 30 inch snapper handle bar mower WOW what an upgrade

There is nothing worse on the price to capability ratio than a zero turn mower. Sub compacts are the jack of all trade, kind of sort of can do everything but good at nothing. The garden tractor is everything most people need.

Absolutely. I grew up in the suburbs but we always cut our own grass. Dad would put in a vegetable garden each year. He had a Simplicity Broadmoor that we used for everything. He let me cut the neighboring yards with it when I turned 13. I earned money and he only asked I pay for the gasoline. I miss you Dad.

I think you are confusing them with lawn tractors, which are still widely available and better than zero turns on slopes.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iL1xJD9MNG0.html

One thing that was pointed out below, was that many of those great garden tractors from the '80s and '90s, if their prices were adjusted for inflation today, you'd find they were quite a bit more expensive than today's modern subcompacts. A more modern supply chain is delivering more value for the money than what was possible 30 years ago.

@@MessicksEquip I’d like to see some proof of that, a study or some kind of test. I have farmers, ranchers and just people that had more land than an average person in my family and precisely NONE of them ever had to finance a garden tractor. I’ve not heard of anyone financing a garden tractor from back in the day. But today I very rarely hear about anyone with a subcompact or a zero turn that bought it outright. Now, sure, I’ll grant you that there’s definitely a little bit of a different mindset towards financing today than there was 30-40 years ago. But not much. I’m not taking about the 40s and 50s here. I’m talking 80s-90s. So while I do understand that some particular machines may have benefited greatly from mass production and volume… I think that might prove my point. The manufacturers realized. We don’t have to build the best product for the customer’s needs. We can just build this a push them into it. As opposed to building something that would better fit the needs of the average homeowner. The fact is that the average homeowner has very little use for a Diesel engine, 4 wheel drive or a loader, let alone a backhoe…This is why consumer grade zero turns have exploded in popularity. I personally know people, myself included, that if there were better options in the garden tractor market today. We would NEVER buy a zero turn. Primarily because they are so incredibly limited when it comes to doing ANYTHING other than mowing. Even something like towing a small garden trailer becomes a pain with a zero turn. But anyway getting back on track here… there’s a difference between inflation and general cost of products and services rise. In many areas. For example… as recently as the 80s one could get a new Suburban for under $15,000. While today suburbans and their other rebranded sisters sell for well over $100,000. I didn’t even pay that much for a 2,000 square foot house on 10 acres. That has almost nothing to do with inflation. And much more to do with how the vehicle evolved. It used to be a truck you could fit the family in. Now it’s a luxury car you can fit the family in.

​@@brandoncrimmins6296 This is super easy to do (may make a good video). For example a Deere 420's price in 1983 was $6489. Punch that into a today's price calculator and its over $19,000. The migration into commodity implements all based on CAT0/1 and modern manufacturing make today's sub compacts a better value than the comparatively more niche garden tractor of the 80's.